Method of and apparatus for making strip shingles



March 25, 1930. F. c. OVERBURY 1,751,945

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING STRIP SHINGLES Filed Aug. 16, 1926 Patented Mar. 25, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK G. OVERBURY, OF HILLSDALE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE A8- SIGNMENTS, TO THE PATENT AND LICENSING CORPORATION, OF BOSTON, MASSA- CHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS METHOD OF ANIO APPARATUS FOR MAKING STRIP SHINGLES Application filed August 16, 1926. Serial No. 129,484.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for making fabricated roofing elements, more particularly the type of element commonly known as a strip shingle. Roofing elements of this general class are customarily v made with a fibrous base or foundation'of 'sheet material composed of rag or asbestos fibers or the like, which has been formed on a paper-making machine. The fibrous foun- 10 dation is saturated with a suitable waterproofing material such as low melting-point asphalt after which it is coated on one or both faces with a waterproofing layer of high melting-point or blown asphalt which by reason of its relatively high melting pointand tough and rubbery consistency is particularly suited for this purpose. The waterproof. coating layer is thereupon surfaced with a protective masking layer of comminuted or granular material in order to protect the asphalt layer from the deteriorating action of the weather, particularly the suns rays. The granular material which may consist of crushed slate, brick, tile, ground cork, sawdust, or other equivalent material, may be applied to both surfaces or to the weather side only of the strip shingle. In the latter case, if there be a coating on the under side, such coating is usually dusted with talc, powdered mica or equivalent material, to make the surface non-sticky. From a sheet thus prepared, strip shingles of suitable size and shape are cut and such strip shingles have been sold as a finished product ready for use. It has been found advantageous, however, to protect the cut edges of such roofing elements which are exposed to the weather, since such edges, if not protected, make it possible for atmospheric moisture to soak into or dry out of the fibrous base of the shingle through the cut ends of the fibers which appear at such edges. These changes of moisture content, together with loss of volatile constituents of the saturant, tend to cause the shingle to sponge or bulk and the corners to warp and curl, causing rapid deterioration of the roofing elements. The life of the shingle may be greatly prolonged therefore by sealing the cut edges which are to be ex- 50 posed to the weather with suitable coating asphalt or its equivalent. The slotting and .method. This will be more clearly understood from the disclosure on the drawing, of which I Figure 1 represents conventionally apparatus for operating on a sheet of raw felt to convert it into the finished product.

Figures 2 and 3 are sections on the lines 2-2 and 33 respectively of Figure 1.

Figure 4.- is a fragmentary plan of a ortion of the sheet of felt indicating one o the several possible arrangements of slots and lines of cut on the sheet to form the individual roofing elements. I

Figure 5 shows a modified form of a portion of the apparatus.

Referring to the drawing in detail, a roll of raw roofing felt is indicated at 10. The sheet from the roll is led through a pair of rolls 11 which are constructed to cut out longitudinal series of transversely extending slots as indicated in Figure 4, or to make any other cut-outs desired according to the shape of the strip shingle to be formed. The sheet is then passed through a container 12 in which is maintained a suitable pool of impregnating material 13 such as low melting-point saturating steps may be interchanged if desired. The excess saturant may be removed from-the sheet as it emerges from the container 12 as by a pair of rolls 14 from which the sheet is led to a series of dry and cooling 9o rollers 15. The saturated and partially cooled sheet may then be coated on its weathered side as by a suitable spout or series of spouts 16 which may be used to deposit a supply of water-proofing material such as blown asphalt on the upper surface of the sheet. This coating may be spread as by a roll 17 to form an even layer. If desired, the under surface of the sheet may also be coated, a suitable roll 18 being provided for the purpose to pick up on its periphery molten asphalt'directly from a suitable supply 19 thereof or by contact by an intermediate feed roll .20. Suitable means (not shown) are supplied for keeping the saturant in the container 12 and the coat ing material in the spout 16 and the container 19 at the desired temperatures to maintain in these materials the proper consistencies. The coated sheet is then surfaced with comminnted material on one or both sides. As shown, a hopper 21 is provided to deposit grit of any desired kind on the upper surface of the coated sheet while the coating is still hot and sticky. A suitable container 22 is positioned to catch surplus grit which may fall off the edges or through the slots of the sheet. The sheet may then be passed about a roll 23, the pressure against which serves to force sufiicient of the grit into firm engagement with the coating to cover the same completely and to be held partially embedded therein, excess grit passing on over the roll 23 and falling back into the hopper 21. At any suitable point, a dust box 24 may be supplied to dust the under side of the sheet with talc or other non-sticky surfacing material. The sheet is then led over a number of cooling rollers 25, after which it is slitv longitudinally as by suitable rolls 26, the lines of slit passing through the slots as indicated at 27 in Figure 4 to form the butt edges of the strip shingles. The slitter 26 may be made to slit also between the rows of slots as at 37, or if preferred this line of slit may be cut subsequently. The slitting rolls 26 are followed at once by a set of edge-coating rolls 28 which are located to dip into a suitable supply of coating material 29. These rolls 28 are each preferably provided with a central flange 30 which formswith the periphery of the roll shoulders 31 adapted to pick up and hold suficient coating to seal completely the butt edges of the shingle strips which come in contact therewith by locally coating these edges, that is, by confining the application of coating material substantially to the edges so that there is little or no extension of the edge coating onto the front face of the shingle strip. When the lines of slit 27 have been cut in the sheet through the series of slots, shingle- ,imulating tabs are thus formed which are somewhat limp where asphalt-saturated fibrous material has been used in preparing the roofing sheet, since such material is semiflexible, especially when warm. In order to support the strips of roofing which have been slit from the sheet, I may provide suitable tables 32 on which the strips may slide, the tabs on the strips formed by the slits 27 being allowed to extend over the edges of the tables 32 to engage the peripheries of the.

coating rolls 28. The rolls 28 may be arranged as shown in Figure 1 to engage the edges of the strips with the shoulders 31 t0 merges maintain them on a level with the tables 32, I

of the supported portions of the strips, the

cut edges of the slits are well separated to receive ample and independent coatings 'of asphalt. After leaving the coating rolls 28, the strips pass a grit hopper 33 which is adapted to deposit a continuous supply of grit on the freshly coated edges of the strips. Suitable troughs 34 are preferably placed beneath the hoppers 33, each trough being sha ed with a diminishing depth as shown in *igure 1, so that the tabs of the strips which droop over the edges of the tables 32 are picked up by their butt edges on the deeper end of the trough which is supplied from above with grit from the hopper 33, and travel to the upper end of the trough in contact with a supply of loose grit from the hopper 33, which is swept alongthe trough by the tabs, the surplus being caught in a suitable receptacle 35. This contact of the coated edges of the strips with the grit in the trough .34, together with the grit showered from the hopper 33, surfaces the edge coating of the strips with grit. Individual elements may then be cut from the strips by a suitable cutter 36 as on the lines 38.

A modified device for coating the edges of the slit strips is indicated in Figure 5. Instead of the edge-coating rolls 28 to apply coating material to the edges after they have been slit by the rollers 26. I may apply a narrow stream of asphalt either to the knife of the slitting roll 26 itself, or to the sheet immediately in front of the knife as shown in Figure 5. This line of fresh hot asphalt may be supplied as by asuitable spout 39, as shown, or by any other suitable means. The slitting roll 26 cutting the sheet immediately after the application of the narrow stream of hot asphalt works in this asphalt and carries some of it into the cut. The cutting blades on the roll 26 are also preferably so shaped that the edges of. the cut will be sufliciently separated to allow some of the asphalt to flow around behind the blade into the cut to complete the sealing of the edges.

Having thus described an embodiment of my invention, it should be evident to those with waterproofing material, applying coating material to a face of the slotted and saturated sheet. surfacing the coating with comminuted material, slitting the sheet thus coated and surfaced longitudinally into strips through said. slots, coating the newly cut edges only of the butt portions of the strips with additional waterproofing material, surfacing the edge coatings with grit, and cutting individual elements from the strips, each cut passing through a slot.

2. A method of making roofing elements,

which comprises cutting longitudinal series of transverse slots in a sheet of roofing base of indeterminate length, said slots being spaced from both edges of the sheet, saturating the sheet with waterproofing material, coating a face of the sheet with bituminous compound, surfacing the coating with grit, slitting the sheet longitudinally through said slots, applying additional coating locally to the cut edges resulting from the slitting, and surfacing the edge coating with grit. 3. Steps in the method of making roofing elements, which comprise slitting a sheet of semi-flexible roofing of indeterminate length into longitudinal strips, supporting each strip horizontally for a portion of its Width, bending the unsupported portions adjacent to the edges of the slits out of'the plane of the supported portions, thus separating the cutedges of each slit, and applying coating material locally to said cut edges and surfacing the coating with grit while said out edges are so separated.

41 Apparatus for making strip shingles with sealed butt edges, comprising the following instrumentalities, to wit: means for slotting and saturating a sheet of roofing base, means for coating a face of the saturated sheet with waterproofing material, means for applying grit to the coated face, means for thereafter longitudinally slitting the grit-covered sheet through the slots, means for applying to the newly cut edges only a sealing coat of waterproofing material, means for applying additional grit to the coated edges, and means for e. cutting individual elements'from the strips,

each cut passing through a slot.

5. Apparatus for makin roofing elements, which comprises means or longitudinally slitting into strips a sheet of semi-flexible roofing material of indeterminate length, means for separating the cutedges of the slits, said se arating means comprising a substantially orizontal support for a portion of the width of each said strip arranged to leave the portion of the strip adjacent to a cut edge unsupported, andmeans for applymg liquefied coating locally'to the cut edges.

6. Apparatus for making roofing elements, which comprises means for slitting intolongitudinal strips a sheet of semi-flexible roofing material, substantially horizontal supporting means for said strips, said supporting means being arranged to carry said strips for a portion of their width but to leave the portion adjacent a slit edge unsupported, means for applying liquefied coating material to the cut edges of each slit, said coating means comprising a wheel having on its periphery intermediate the ends a radial flange formin with said periphery a pair of shoulders a apted to receive the cut edges of the slit, and a container for coating material into which said wheel is adapted to dip.

7. Apparatus for surfacing a coated edge of a continuous semi-flexible sheet, which comprises a table, means for sliding the sheet longitudinally on the table with a portion of the sheet ad acent to said coated edge projecting over the edge of the table, and means for maintaining a quantity of loose dry surfacing material in contact with the projecting edge of the passing sheet.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

FREDERICK G. OVERBURY. 

